Each individual should evaluate the WPC's agenda

March 5, the Free Press printed Dave Daugharty’s letter re: Washington Policy Center (WPC) and six related issues.

Dave — a long time colleague/friend — and I both wish the best for our country, our state and our people but have differing views on what that means. I wish to address each of his six points.

1. Dave’s claim: A supermajority needed for state tax increases will “ensure tyranny by the minority.” He then asks if such represents democracy. Of course not. The United States has never been a democracy but rather a representative republic — deliberately chosen by our founders to prevent tyranny by the majority.

2. Medicaid expansion: Which of the enumerated powers in the Constitution gives the U.S. government authority to offer, let alone expand Medicaid? Charity and philanthropy have historically been voluntary activities of generous people. Paying Medicaid taxes is not voluntary.

3. Our regulated health care system has not been truly a free market for decades. Yet people from major nations with supposedly superior socialized health systems, (e.g. Canada) come here to get health care. If our system is the poorest of all, why does that occur?

4. As a mathematician, Dave knows that correlation does not prove causality, (e.g. suppose I have been at the scene of several auto accidents. In no way does that prove I was responsible for any of them.). Similarly, no single finding of raised CO2 levels during a lone era of increased temperature offers proof that those elevated levels were in any way responsible for climate change.

5. With respect to the proposed STA trolley system, Dave admits the truth of WPC’s claims, but erroneously infers that WPC is opposed to desirable — but not now necessary nor now cost effective — alternative energy sources. I understand STA’s present proposal is for a single trolley serving little/no unmet purpose.

6. The argument that higher minimum wages do not hurt a state’s business ranking is a stretch because wages are but one of the complex set of parameters.

I agree with Dave that each individual should evaluate WPC positions and support or oppose them accordingly.

Don Horner

Cheney